Dyson's brand new vacuum is like nothing I've ever used before - it's a clean freak's dream
Dyson are back with a new model and it's better than ever
If you take your cleaning seriously, this is well-worth the investment. Dyson has ditched some of the most iconic features on its traditional vacuums, but it's paid off. This is next to godliness in the vacuum world.
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Easy to change attachments
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Incredible power and charge
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Almost impossible to get hair caught
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Simple, but effective design
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Expensive
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They always say that 'cleanliness is next to godliness', but Dyson are the gods of cleaning. So, what does that make them? Something pretty special I reckon. And, if you need some proof, let me refer you to their latest launch, the Dyson V16 Piston Animal.
When you already make some of the best vacuums on the market, it can be hard to change what works (and sells). And yet, ever the innovators, Dyson has gone back to the drawing board and overhauled some of their most iconic features. The risky move has paid off.
Think, conical floorheads to prevent hair tangles, no more triggers, a dust bin that can be compacted into an almost solid state and accessories that you can change hands-free. It sounds like the stuff of whacky, cleaning dreams, but it isn’t. It’s Dyson’s mind-blowing reality.
Dyson V16 Piston Animal Vacuum review
The all new Dyson V16 Piston Animal Vacuum only officially launched last week, but I had a sneaky preview of it with the engineers. I've been putting it to the test in my home and I have to say, it's leagues above all my other vacuums. If you want a deep dive into the changes that Dyson has made, you can read about the theory on our page on the new Dyson launch. Here's where you get to see it all in practice.
Dyson V16 Piston Animal Vacuum Specifications
- Price: £749.99-899.99
- Power: 900 watts
- Run time: 70 minutes
- Floorheads: one covers all
- Accessories: combi tool, crevice tool, hair screw, submarine (optional)
- LED sensor: yes
- App compatibility: yes
- HEPA filter: yes
- Dust bin capacity: extended with compressor
Who would the Dyson V16 Piston Animal Vacuum suit?
If you’re someone who wants your vacuum to work as hard as you do (without you actually having to do very much), this new launch is made for you. It’s ideal for busy, design-conscious homes where carpets blend into hardwood, then tiles, then rugs because that single floorhead really does handle it all without the constant swapping and clicking.
Add in the generous 70-minute run time, whisper-clean HEPA filtration, and clever little touches like hands-free floorhead removal, and it feels like the kind of appliance that will quietly transform your routine. Yes, the price is a splurge, but if you’re after a vacuum that looks as luxurious as it performs, this is a clean freak's dream.
Unboxing the Dyson V16 Piston Animal Vacuum
Dyson has always set the standard for packaging and set-up. The box that this arrived in garnered lots of excitement within my flat building, because I had told everybody that I was expecting a vacuum delivery. The only parcel that arrived all day was curiously small, so my neighbours didn’t think that it could be the vacuum, but it was.
The smart cardboard box is completely recyclable and expertly packed. I almost couldn’t believe everything had once fitted inside it. You get the Dyson body, long hose and floor head, crevice tool, pet bed tool, upholstery tool, and wall bracket.
Once out of the box, you can admire the matte black and chrome finishes. They look seriously smart and almost too good to use. However, knowing what I know about this, it is absolutely worth using.
What is the Dyson V16 Piston Animal like to use?
There are a lot of exciting things to know about the new Dyson. First, you only need one floor head. This has been designed to work well across both hard and soft floors and the brushes are conical shaped. This means that hair cannot tighten and trap around the brush, instead it gets balled up and vacuumed away. I’ll go into what it was like in practice further down, but if you can’t wait to find out, I can tell you now that it’s brilliant.
There’s also no more trigger to press when you’re vacuuming. Instead, you press a button and the vacuum whirrs into life. The clever Dyson laser will start as soon as the vacuum is on too. Mine showed a disgusting amount of dust up, which is shocking, because I had just tested two vacuums on my floor beforehand.
Those are the two main changes that you’ll notice from the get-go, but there are some other exciting features that you’ll see popping up further down the review.
Touching the lower button on the screen of the Dyson will produce a QR code that asks you to connect to the Dyson app. I already have this, but even if you don’t it’s a simple process. From there, you can get vacuuming.
Half of my house is hardwood floor, but I have lots of built in cabinets and furniture that make it really hard to vacuum around. With this in mind, I scattered 100g of flour and sugar on the floor as well as 100g of oats. This tests how well the vacuum can pick up small, fine particles as well as bigger bits of debris.
As soon as I hit the button on the Dyson, I could feel how powerful it is. With that does come a fair bit of noise, but vacuuming is never peaceful and this will have it done a lot quicker thanks to its clever design.
It flew though up all my tests in one pass. I didn’t have to go over the same spot lots of times and I found that it was really nimble at working its way under my table and close to the skirting boards. Dyson has actually built in special guards to protect your skirting boards from scratching, whilst still picking up dust right from all the corners and cracks around your home.
With pretty effortless wheeling I was ready to move onto my carpets and rugs. I ran the same test on these, scattering oats, flour, and sugar on the floor. Again, the Dyson collected every last crumb up. In fact, I noticed it was cleaning up all the extra bits that the other vacuums hadn’t managed to get in the tests that I had run before.
The one thing that I started to notice was that this is quite heavy. Dyson has compacted a more powerful motor in here, but it is nonetheless pretty weighty when you’re been vacuuming for a long time. In my case, this was the last one that I tested after almost a full day of using other models, so the weight was accentuated.
The last and final test is in how the Dyson picks up hair. In my house, that’s important, because we have dogs visiting, I have long hair, and so do lots of my friends, so we end up with strands everywhere (much to my partner’s dismay).
I scattered hair extensions all around the house and vacuumed them up. I’m pleased to say that there wasn’t a single strand left behind. The dust bin was my proof. My partner was nothing short of delighted and the house looked fabulous (if I do say so myself).
I also wanted to give the different accessories a run and this is where another element of the Dyson comes into play. The floor head can be removed completely hands-free. Pushing down on one section will unlock the floor head, so you don’t need to scramble around in your hands and knees. The crevice tool was brilliant for a quick whip around under the cabinets, although I think the Dyson had it covered and the upholstery tool made a massive difference to picking up threads and leaves that plague my white sofa (I know, I shouldn’t have gone for white). And then, when I had finished-up my cleaning tasks, there was another treat waiting.
Cleaning and maintaining the Dyson V16 Piston Animal Vacuum
This was the dust that I collected before our tests, just from vacuuming my home after two other vacuums had already cleaned it
The dust bin on the Dyson has a little measure inside. If you push this down, you can compress your dust, time and time again. I took great joy in filling the dust bin and compressing my dust as much as I could. Not only did this mean less trips to the bin, it also meant that the dust came out in a pretty solid block. There was none of that fluffy, cotton wool texture dust. It was a very efficient, tidy process.
After all my tests, the vacuum still had 45 minutes of run time left. I, however, did not. I have to say that I’m impressed with the charge and how well it held up, especially given that I was giving it some tough tasks and I was moving across lots of different surfaces. It’s rare to have a vacuum with that kind of stamina.
How does the Dyson V16 Piston Animal Vacuum compare?
I have to say, I don’t know how fair it is to compare this to other models. It’s really brilliant. First of all, I’ll say that I used a Shark, an Ultenic, and an Amazon branded vacuum on two rooms before I used this Dyson. To get to grips with it, I did a quick run around and ended up with the dust that you can see in the image above. The fact that this can collect that much more dust than other, really decent vacuums is impressive. However, there’s no escaping that this is an expensive vacuum. With that in mind, I’ll offer you two alternatives: a cheaper Dyson and a high-end Shark.
The Dyson that you might opt for to save some money could be the Dyson V11. This is quite a few iterations back. You lose the green laser, the power, and the single floorhead. However, you can also save up to £250, which is not to be sniffed at. The The Dyson V11 is powerful enough to deep-clean carpets and hard floors, yet still lightweight and easy to handle, which makes everyday cleaning feel less of a chore. Its intelligent suction automatically adjusts depending on the surface, so you don’t have to keep switching settings mid-clean. Plus, the long battery life and clear LCD display mean you can finish the whole house in one go without guesswork. I really liked it, but now that I've used the Piston Animal, I'm not sure I can go back.
The Shark vacuum that I was talking about is the Shark PowerDetect Clean & Empty. This is their top-of-the-range model and it's still £200 cheaper than the Piston Animal. I like the Shark's stand and self-emptying system, as well as the bend in the main body of the vacuum for cleaning under sofas. It also self-detects floors and has a similar dust bin capacity and run time.
The Piston offers the opportunity to have a wet vacuum too, which the Shark can't. On top of that, you've got the trust and reputation that Dyson has garnered over the years. And that dust bin in the Dyson is close to impossible to fill, which is great if you have a big home. Both the cheaper Dyson and Shark are tempting, but I'm very much starry-eyed over this.
Should you buy the Dyson V16 Piston Animal Vacuum?
I love how the Dyson looks: the chrome and copper finish spells some serious vacuuming potential. What I also love is all the extra features: the laser, the compacting bin, not having a trigger, and just using one head. The thing that really clinched the deal for me though is the amount of dust that it picked up after other vacuums. With that kind of promise, it’s a clean-freak’s dream.
How we test vacuums
At woman&home, we have a standardised series of tests that we put all our vacuums through. They have to vacuum up small particles of flour and sugar, large bits of oat and cereal debris, and hair. This is a really holistic test and it gives us a good idea of how well the vacuum can clean your floor, but it’s so much more than that, isn’t it?
I talk about the run time, how heavy it is, how easy it is to clean, and all the other little touches that make a big difference to your overall experience of a vacuum. I also compare it to other models and let you know about value for money so that you know whether this is the right model for you or not. All in all, by the end of a review, you should have a good idea of whether this is the right model for you. If not, don’t hesitate to email me. I love chatting about vacuums.
You can find out more on our dedicated page for how we test vacuums.
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